Current Debt

Current Debt

Current debt includes the formal borrowings of a company outside of accounts payables. This appears on the balance sheet as an obligation that must be paid off within a year’s time. Thus, current debt is classified as a current liability. This is not to be confused with the current portion of long-term debt, which is the portion of long-term debt due within a year’s time.

Not all companies have a current debt line item, but those that do use it explicitly for loans that were incurred with a maturity of less than a year. Some firms call this notes payable. This differs from accounts payable, as accounts payable refers to goods or services borrowed on credit. Notes payable, on the other hand, refers to funds or cash borrowed on credit.

The Current Ratio

Current debt is often assessed using the current ratio. The current ratio is a liquidity metric that compares current assets to current liabilities. This ratio is used to gauge the ability of a company to handle it’s financial obligations for the next year. If a company has current assets of $500,000 and current liabilities of $250,000, then it has a current ratio of 2:1. Generally speaking, a company should always have a current ratio of at least 1:1 or higher to indicate that it is financially sound. A ratio of less than 1:1 indicates the company has more financial obligations than its assets can cover.

To get a good reading of a company’s relative financial stability, it is best to compare its current ratio to the average current ratio of similar companies operating in the same industry.

Learn more about the Balance Sheet

We hope this guide has been helpful in your understanding of financial statements. To continue learning about the balance sheet please see these additional articles that will help to increase your knowledge: